the upperstrata of society―the higher classes
社会の上層 - 斎藤和英大辞典
During this period, the upperstrata of the temples like Sango (three monastic positions with management roles at a temple), betto (administrator of a Buddhist temple) and zasu(temple's head priest) lost their control over the temples' inner organizations, and some other strata were formed, including gakuryo (learned priest), priests and gyonin (practitioners).
この時代になると、三綱や別当・座主などによる寺院上層部からの内部統制が弱体化し、学侶・衆徒・行人などの階層が形成された。 - Wikipedia日英京都関連文書対訳コーパス